by: Omar Kelly December 15th, 2010 | 5:01 PM Lost in all the joy and elation over last Sunday’s 10-6 win over the hated New York Jets was the fact the Miami Dolphins lost a whole tenth of a yards per carry.

Can this Dolphins offensive line improve?The Dolphins surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark for the sixth time this season against the Jets, gaining 101 on 32 carries. But the game’s 3.2 yards per carry average didn’t help the team’s meager 3.8 yards per carry average going into that game.Last Sunday’s rushing performance actually triggered a dip to 3.7 yards per carry, which clearly can’t sit well for a team that’s supposed to be a run-oriented, ball-control offense.Coach Tony Sparano’s clearly had enough of Chad Henne taking all the heat for how disappointing the offense has performed in 2010.“We need to take pressure off the quarterback by running the ball better,” Sparano said. “We have to do a better job by running the ball better.

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Sparano admitted the running game hasn’t been effective, but stressed it’s important to stay committed to it because statistics say NFL teams that run the ball more than they throw it usually have more success in the win-loss column.Sparano FINALLY admitted he’s uncomfortable with the second-level blocking of his offensive line, the same offensive line he and the rest of the Trifecta decided to rebuild this offseason despite the 4.4 yards per carry average the unit that featured Donald Thomas, Jake Grove and Justin Smiley produced.“Our problem has been blocking to the second level. We’re getting the four-yard area. We’re blocking them into that level,” Sparano said. “We’ve got to finish [blocks] and get to the second level.”

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Sunday’s game against the Bills is going to be telling for this offense because Buffalo is the worst rated team when it comes to run defense, allowing opponents to average 4.7 yards per attempt.